4.37 36 Published Jul 27, 2020, Updated Oct 14, 2022 If you’ve been an EBF blog reader for a while, you probably know that I despise boring salads. I like to keep my salads interesting by combining different textures, temperatures and obviously flavors! When I first made this Mexican street corn salad, I basically wanted it on everything (including salads) so that’s how this kale salad recipe was born! One taste of this combo with the Mexican street corn, grilled chicken, avocado over massaged kale and I was hooked. It honestly reminds me of a salad you’d get from a casual chain like Chopt or Sweetgreen.
Street Corn Kale Salad Ingredients
Here’s what you need to make this epic kale salad:
shredded kale – any variety of kale will work but I used regular curly kale for this saladavocadogrilled chicken – you can grill your chicken on an outdoor grill or use a grill panMexican street corn salad – if you prep the street corn in advance, this salad comes together really fasttortilla chipscotija cheese – this cheese is already in the street corn salad, but you can add an extra sprinkle on top after plating for even more cheesy goodnesssriracha – this is optional, but I love the flavor and spice it adds
How to Grill Chicken Breasts for Salad
You can totally put plain, raw chicken breasts on the grill and grill them up, but I like to spice them up a little bit! If you have time, this apple cider vinegar chicken would be perfect for this salad. The end result is a flavorful, moist chicken breast. I also like adding dry rub to my chicken before grilling. It takes basically no prep time and results in a super flavorful grilled protein! You could use my blackened seasoning recipe or just a mixture of chili powder, paprika, salt and pepper to play off the seasonings in the street corn salad. Simply rub the mixed spices over the chicken breast before grilling. When you’re ready to grill, preheat the grill. When it’s around 400ºF, place the chicken on the grill and cook for about 10 minutes, flipping halfway through. Use a meat thermometer to check the chicken after cooking – you want the inside temperature of the breast to be at least 165ºF. Once the chicken has been cooked, allow it to cool before chopping and using in the salad recipe. The chicken can be grilled up to 3 days in advance.
How to Assemble the Salad
For this kale salad I like to divide the avocado and use one half to massage the kale, along with lime juice and salt. This softens the kale and is essentially like a dressing for the salad. Once the kale is massaged, simply add all the chopped ingredients and mix them together in a big bowl. Another option is to use a salad chopper bowl! This chopper/bowl combo is one of my most used kitchen accessories. To prep the salad using the salad chopper, simply massage your kale, add all remaining ingredients to the bowl and then use the rolling knife (similar to a pizza cutter) to chop the ingredients up and mix everything together. Once you’ve tossed the salad, portion it into bowls. Add a drizzle of sriracha, if using and dive in!
More Mexican-Inspired Recipes to Try:
Healthy Chicken EnchiladasSouthwestern Quinoa SaladVegetarian Enchilada BakeSlow Cooker Cheesy Mexican Quinoa CasseroleHealthy Mexican Layer DipMexican Shrimp CocktailMexican Sweet Potato Chicken SoupMexican Quinoa CasseroleTaco Soup
